16 



Bird Notes and News 



by herself and Major Haines. At Princes 

 Risborough (Bucks) Mrs. Dixon Davies gave 

 a stimulating and instructive address. At 

 Greystoke (Cumberland), Mr. H. C. Howard 

 presided, and Mrs, Chance presented the 

 prizes. At Ridge (Second Prize, Hants) Mrs. 

 Suckling gave additional prizes, and Mr. 

 Wilfred Ashley, M.P., the tree. Sandown 

 (I. W., Second Prize), Bournemouth (St. 

 Peter's), Laverstoke, Christchurch (St. 

 Joseph's R.C.), EUesborough, Cargo, Hinton 

 Ampner, Hinton Waldrist, Keswick (St. 

 John's), Middleton (Warwickshire), Morland 

 (Cumberland), Thurleigh, Totley (Derby- 

 shire), Wickham (Hants), and other Teams 

 and Schools have also had successful cele- 

 brations. 



An offer of special prizes to Bucks Schools 

 by Mrs. Dixon Davies, for Essays on " Bird 

 Observation in Winter," has had a large and 

 excellent response, especially from ColeshiU, 

 EUesborough, Lacey Green, Long Crendon 

 and Princes Risborough. 



IN THE COURTS. 



Shooting a Bittern. — At Ecclesall on 

 February 29th, Henry David, gamekeeper, 

 was fined 5s. and 8s. 6d. costs for killing 

 a Bittern at Copmere Pool, near Ecclesall, 

 and Thomas Plant was fined 6d. and 8s. 6d. 

 costs for being in possession of it. The 

 specimen (which is worth a good deal more 

 than 6d.) was, unfortunately, not impounded. 

 The bird was seen in the reeds with a fish 

 in its mouth, but the keeper made the 

 customary defence, that he did not know 

 what bird it was. The case was taken up 

 by the police at the instance of the R.S.P.B. 

 The bird is fully protected in the county, 

 where it formerly bred, and where it would 

 no doubt breed again if not shot on sight. 



Cruelty to a Rook. — At Ludgershall on 

 February 2nd, James Eyles, a farmer, was 

 fined £1 for cruelty to a Rook. The bird 

 was shot at and winged, and then tied on 

 top of a rick without food or water for several 

 days, when it was noticed by the police and 

 killed. Eyles said the rooks attacked his 

 ricks, but admitted that his action " was a 

 silly thing to do," and offered a subscription 

 to the R.S.P.C.A. 



The Bird-catcher. — At Bristol, on Decem- 

 ber 12th, three professional bird-catchers, 

 Samuel and Henry Griffiths and Henry 

 Parsons, were charged with being in posses- 



sion of newly-taken Linnets within the 

 city. The men were in possession, among 

 them, of 78 Liimets, fresh-caught, a Lark, a 

 Chaffinch, and a Cirl Bunting, and also a 

 number of call and brace birds, and the usual 

 bird-catchers' outfit. It was urged that 

 Parsons had been bird-catching for many 

 years, had a wife and nine children, treated 

 the birds as tenderly as his own offspring, and 

 was so kind that he gave them rum-and -water 

 to keep out the cold. Fined 5s. and costs 

 each ; the catching outfit confiscated, but 

 allowed to retain the decoy birds. 



Wild-fowl Shooting. — At Weston-super- 

 Mare, on December 15th, John CounseU 

 was ordered to pay the costs for shooting 

 Oyster-catchers. The case was brought by 

 Mr. H. Cox, of the R.S.P.B., as a warning, 

 as the birds were being shot by a number 

 of men who knew them only as " sea -pies. "^^ 



Shooting Gulls at Filey. — At Filey, on 

 February 16th, Thomas Featherstone was 

 fined Is. for shooting a Sea-guU on the fore- 

 shore on Sunday, February 4th. Defendant 

 said that people stood all day on Filey Brigg 

 and shot Gulls. 



The Bird-Shop. — At the North London 

 Police Court, on March 12th, Eliza Weddel, 

 of Dalston, was fined £1 and 42s. costs for 

 cruelty to birds by keeping them in dirty 

 cages. A Thrush suffering from cramp and 

 a one-legged Lark were in a cage which the 

 magistrate described as horribly loathsome, 

 and the veterinary witness stated that they 

 were dying of blood-poisoning. The Secre- 

 tary of the Cage Birds League gave it as his 

 opinion that a dirty cage did not necessarily 

 mean that its occupant suffered. 



LEAFLET. 



"A Thrush that Never Lived." 



By W. H. HUDSON. 



With Illustration in colour by H. Q-ronvold. 



Price Sixpence per doz. 



Bird Notes and News (issued quarterly) will 

 be sent post free to any address for Is. per annum, 

 payable in advance ; single numbers, 3d. 



To Members of the Society subscribing 6s. and 

 upwards per annum it is forwarded gratis and post 

 free. 



Printed by Witherby & Co., 326, High Holborn, W.C, and 

 published by the Royal Society for thb Protbctiok or Birds, 

 33, Queen Anoe's Gate, S.W. 



